Virginia Civil War Images from Harper's Weekly

Started in 1857, Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, was the creation of Fletcher Harper, one of the four original Harper brothers who founded the famous printing and publishing house that bore their name. It was his intention to publish a high quality weekly newspaper, featuring literature and a few pictures that were suitable for family reading. By the end of its first year, however, the Weekly had become an illustrated publication. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, circulation increased, thereby establishing the Weekly's influence as a national power and its reputation as one of the leading illustrated newspapers in the country. Though the editorial stance tended to have a Northern point-of-view, its pictorial coverage of the war was balanced in its depiction of battles, personages and events. It may be said, in fact, that it was this honesty (along with the photographic images of Matthew Brady) that permitted President Lincoln to come to understand the ineffectiveness of his early generals.

Throughout the war, Harper's Weekly sent numerous artists to the front to cover the action. The Weekly's circulation continued to grow steadily until 1900, when financial problems at the firm brought production to a halt and the business passed out of the Harper family's hands.

The Finding Aid & Research Guide for the Virginia Civil War Images from Harper's Weekly includes information on 400 illustrations produced for the Weekly during 1861-1865 and which relate specifically to the Commonwealth of Virginia's involvment in the Civil War. From this group 100 images have been scanned for research and study by students and scholars on the World Wide Web. The images reflect the unfolding events and drama of the war as well as the superb artistry of the Weekly's many artists. These images can be accessed for research via the World Wide Web.

View Virginia Civil War Images from Harper's Weekly

In order to maintain historical accuracy, titles and spellings were taken from original issues of the Weekly and have been retained in the Finding Aid & Reserach Guide and its index. Original issues of Harper's Weekly from 1861-1863, which contain the vast majority of Virginia images, were obtained from GMU's Special Collections & Archives. Later issues were consulted at the Library of Congress.

For more information on the Harper's Weekly collection, please contact the SC&A staff.

Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) preserves and makes available to all students, faculty, and researchers many kinds of original and scholarly materials. Subject areas in SC&A include Northern Virginiana, Planned Communities, Congressional Papers, Performing Arts, Maps, the Civil War, and George Mason University. Formats in SC&A include manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio and videotapes, architectural drawings, photographs, and slides.

The SC&A staff is always willing to help researchers. SC&A's reading room provides a quiet haven for serious research. Most materials may be photocopied, either by the researcher or by staff, depending on the nature of the items. Telephone, mail, or E-Mail requests for photocopies and photographs are handled for a fee on a prepaid basis. Also, several Finding Aids & Research Guides have been published and are available at a reasonable cost. Tours can be arranged for small groups, and speakers are available upon request. Some materials may also be requested for use in exhibitions.

The following World Wide Web links provide more information about collections in SC&A, the Library, Virginia, and from around the world:

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